Dark Passage (1947)

A man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try and prove his innocence.

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Delmer Daves (screen play by), David Goodis (from the novel by)

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bruce Bennett

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Humphrey Bogart	...	Vincent Parry
Lauren Bacall	...	Irene Jansen
Bruce Bennett	...	Bob
Agnes Moorehead	...	Madge Rapf
Tom D'Andrea	...	Cabby - Sam
Clifton Young	...	Baker
Douglas Kennedy	...	Detective
Rory Mallinson	...	George Fellsinger
Houseley Stevenson	...	Dr. Walter Coley
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Alvin	...	Blackie (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Bogart plays a man convicted of murdering his wife who escapes from prison in order to prove his innocence. Bogart finds that his features are too well known, and is forced to seek some illicit backroom plastic surgery. The entire pre-knife part of the film is shot from a Bogart's-eye-view, with us seeing the fugitive for the first time as he starts to recuperate from the operation in the apartment of a sympathetic young artist (played by Bacall) for whom he soon finds affection. But what he's really after is revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

subjective camera | bandaged face | femme fatale | fugitive | miscarriage of justice | 

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Taglines:

IN DANGER AS VIOLENT AS THEIR LOVE!!! (one-sheet poster)

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Between the film's unorthodox "first person perspective" and Humphrey Bogart's negative press from his support of the Committee for the First Amendment established in the face of the hearings being done by the House Un-American Activities Committee led to the film having a poor performance at the box office.

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Goofs

During the final confrontation between Vincent Parry and Madge Rapf, she doesn't recognize him at first because he's had his face altered by plastic surgery. But she previously knew him well enough she should have recognized his voice immediately, even if it came from an unfamiliar face. In addition, Vincent's theory even presupposes that she recognized his voice when he spoke through the door at Irene's and that that's when she started planning her murder of George, making her surprise at realizing she is speaking to Vincent when he visits her even more illogical.

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Quotes

Cabby - Sam: A couple weeks ago I picked up a dame in my cab, she musta had her face lifted by one of them quacks. She got caught in the rain, and the whole thing dropped down to here. She shoulda left it unlifted.

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer-colorized version.

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Connections

Referenced in Hamlet (2000)

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Soundtracks

Someone to Watch Over Me
(uncredited)
Music by George Gershwin
Played on the phonograph when Parry comes downstairs

User Reviews

Agnes Moorehead steals the show!

Even if she has only two or three scenes she steals them all.And it speaks volumes when the stars are Bogart and Bacall.

This is my favorite B/B among the four films they made together."The big sleep" has a plot I've never understood -Hawks used to say it was the same to him-,"to have and to have not" fails to excite me (Bogart a resistant and Gaulliste at that!"Key Largo",on the other hand, is a close second to Daves' movie .

Not that the subjective viewpoint/camera was that much new.Robert Montgomery filmed his hero the same way in 1946 ("Lady in the lake" ,and we only saw his reflection in the mirrors).Hitchcock knew the technique as well and he used it with virtuosity during short sequences.But Daves who is best remembered for his westerns ("broken arrow") pulls it off effortlessly.The depth of field gives a dreamlike atmosphere to the first sequences with Bacall and the surgeon -dream which becomes nightmare during the operation when Bogart sees in his bad dream all the characters involved in the story- There are plot holes of course,particularly Madge 's character .Parry is in Irene's house and presto here she comes.It takes all Agnes Moorehead's talent to give this woman substance.

The first third is Bogartless,as an user points out.But he could add that the last third is almost Bacallless too.

Only the ending,which I will not reveal of course ,is not worthy of a film noir!Maybe the producers imposed it.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dark Passage

Filming Locations:

The Malloch Apartment Building - 1360 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,693

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1